JP's 240. A decade of work.

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by Andrew17030

I was looking for this thread last light but forgot who started it. The pictures of this person's tank are like a 1,000,000 words, mostly about care in placement of corals they know well. I sit and stare at different pictures of this tank and ask why there. Most of the time I think I have a sensible answer. Then I look at the anemone, the one that should be moving but it's not. It's like I am being teased, so many people say no no no, especially this species. Rebellion, is in order.

That, my friend, is the nicest compliment I've ever gotten on RC. Thank-you.

Honestly, you have no idea how many hours I spend cutting and placing corals, and just when I think I'm done something dies or or grows too big so I'm forced to look again. Anyways, thanks.


Joe



Pictures of the Day

[milehigh]

How deep is the display tank sand bed?
Ever use the smaller sugar sand?

[gb530]

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

WHAT IS THIS?

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by gb530

WHAT IS THIS?

That would be the JP Arctic Azure Loisetteae.

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by milehigh

How deep is the display tank sand bed?
Ever use the smaller sugar sand?

I tried some larger sand recently, and now I've taken out most of it, but the majority of the sand is "oolitic" or "sugar" sand. The depth is only about 1 to 2 inches max. 2 inches towards the back and less than an inch in front. I'm adding sand back in slowly, and next tank I will go back to a deep sand bed. Currently one of my biggest "kicks" is the biology of the system, and I really believe a deep sand bed is beneficial in terms of adding more areas for various bacteria.

[ReeferBatman]

Very Nice Tank!

Everything seems happy and healthy!

[Crazy_Beaver]

Perfection!

[JPMagyar]

Wish I'd done this sooner so's they'd have time to grow some before I take them to the local LFS October sale, but better late than never

[frankyrivera]

What are the purple ones and do u still have a piece of Oregon blue for me lol this is frank btw I pmed u a few months back

[Hyperion1337]

Insane pics!
where did u get the JP Arctic Azure Loisetteae?? it looks beautiful.

[rchavez]

Great tank, keep up the good work!

[gb530]

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

That would be the JP Arctic Azure Loisetteae.

Sweet! What I would give for a piece of that! Your tank is awesome!

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by frankyrivera

What are the purple ones and do u still have a piece of Oregon blue for me lol this is frank btw I pmed u a few months back

Hi Frank,

I owe you an apology for sure. Truth is I've been away a lot lately, but more problematic I don't have any O.T. right now, and I was too embarrassed to PM you back and say I'm out. I had to break up my big colony awhile back and the pieces are recovering well, but my only available 2 frags have to go to a local LFS for payment for all my drugs . . . oops I mean reef stuff


Anyways, I promise to drop you a PM when I've got an extra frag or two!

Actually it's a slightly interesting story as the pieces in my frag system are recovering, but I'm blasting them with an insane amount of light. They're about 8 inches directly under a 400 watt Radium with 2 x 110 watt Super Actinic VHOs on either side. Maybe this is one coral that has totally specialized to a particular kind of light. Who knows


Joe

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by Hyperion1337

Insane pics!
where did u get the JP Arctic Azure Loisetteae?? it looks beautiful.

Rick Souta is a long time reefer who's been keepin' SPS since the 90s. He gave me a piece about a decade ago as a bonus when I ordered my original O.T. from him.



and


Thanks everyone for the kind words!

[BHD]

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

Hello, Beautiful tank you have there. I have to ask, what is this green with red tip sps?

thanks

[GPB]

I have tank envy!

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by BHD

Hello, Beautiful tank you have there. I have to ask, what is this green with red tip sps?

thanks

I bought it as a wild colony and I have been struggling to get it healthy. I have high hopes it will become something really nice. It is definitely an SPS that does not survive under LED. I call it Limonade : )

[frankyrivera]

It almost looks like a strawberry shortcake

[tdb320reef]

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

Wish I'd done this sooner so's they'd have time to grow some before I take them to the local LFS October sale, but better late than never

You have great colors - how do you do it?

[frankyrivera]

Hey JP that's cool bro just don't forget me when you get some good Oregon blue. Btw is all that purple stuff on the sand bed for sale or the lfs

[Reeferhead]

Stellar tank JP! True inspiration

[JPMagyar]

In the category of we never stop learning no matter how old or experienced we think we are, I was talking to Rob at Greenwich Aquaria about how I always struggle to keep my alkalinity up, and he asked if I had ever tried to up the output on my calcium reactor to match the alkalinity usage in my system. Truth be told I had never studied the science of my reactor and had always been working under a stable but flawed process that amounted to guessing so I went home and found a webpage made by J. Dieck (Thanks JD - the calculator is awesome!) that allowed me to carefully analyze my reactor output.

Calcium Reactor Setup Help

What I found was that my effluent was around 15 dKh and my flow rate was less than 100 ml/min. Based on the information on his page I increased the flow rate to a maximum suggested rate of 150 ml/min and then studied my alkalinity over a period of several weeks. I ended up increasing the bubble count from the CO2 to about 120 bubbles/min which created an effluent alkalinity around 20 dKh and now my tank alkalinity is stable at about 8 to 8.5 dKh. The savings in B-Ionic cost will be enormous, but the question remains how often will I need to refill the reactor with media and exchange the CO2 tank with a new one. Regardless, I am certain it will have a net cost well below the B-Ionic cost. I haven't yet tested the pH so I wonder if it is lower now that I'm adding more effluent. Standby for more info on that!


Thanks everyone for checking in!


Joe

P.S. Watch for some very exciting work to come from my daughter Grace. She's decided she wants to take charge of my Banggaii breeding project and so we are working on setting up a 93 gallon cube in her bedroom.


P.P.S. I've had a piece of ORA Red Planet for quite some time and it was green and sickly, but under the new lights it's making a slow but steady recovery. Just one more + for T5s. Wow!

[JPMagyar]

And the tank has a new resident!

Kinda a long story, but basically he's a rescue fish from another rimless aquarium. I'm still nervous about him jumping so I just ordered a mesh kit from Bulk Reef Supply so I can build a screen. I'll have to see how much it affects the light He sure is cute though.

[110galreef]

wrasses are sweet!!!

[rhdoug]

I think you will be pleased with the mesh, it does not block any light at all, as far as I can tell.